1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technique appropriate for use in a printing system including a printer device, a network interface for connecting the printer device to a network, and an information processing device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Two types of connection methods for connecting an information processing device (hereinafter referred to as a client device) such as personal computer to a printer device are known. In one connection type, a client device is connected to a printer device through a network (a network connection configuration). In the other connection type, a client device is directly connected to a printer device without a network (a local connection configuration). The client device that is connected to the printer device in the network configuration is hereinafter referred to as a network client, and the client device that is connected in the local connection configuration is hereinafter referred to as a local client.
In the network connection configuration, the printer device includes a network interface, and a print controller as a device main unit. The device main unit is connected to a network through the network interface. The network interface communicates information over the network between the device main unit and a network client terminal present on the network. In the local connection configuration, the device main unit communicates with a local client connected through an interface (i.e., Centronics or USB) that is different from the network interface.
A host base system with a device main unit having no page description language (PDL) is available as a system composed of a client device and a printer device. In the host base system, the client device generates and compresses print image data, and transfers the compressed image data to the printer device. The device main unit of the printer device decompresses the compressed image data and transfers the resulting image data to a printer engine for printing. Such a host base system is different from a printing system that has a device main unit having the function of interpreting a PDL.
To allow a user to check environment setting information of the network interface (configuration information), the configuration information is typically printed out. The configuration information of the network interface is preferably printed out using the device main unit. In an already accepted technique, printing of the configuration information is performed in a system where the device main unit has the function of PDL interpretation. In this case, the network interface transfers PDL data (print data in a PDL format) to the device main unit, and the device main unit expands the PDL data into image data to print the data. In other words, the configuration information is printed without performing information communications over the network.
To print out the configuration information on the above-described host base system, a print image must be transferred to the device main unit. Even if the network interface transfers PDL formatted print data, the device main unit is unable to print out the PDL formatted print data.
Typically, the network interface has no function to directly generate image data from the PDL formatted print data. The host base system has been unable to print the configuration information with the network interface and the device main unit.